Local officials want more for homeland security

Jace Radke

Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2003 | 8:56 a.m.

Southern Nevada emergency officials are continuing to say that they need a bigger say in how and where future federal funding for homeland security is spent.

By the end of the month Nevada is scheduled to have received about $30 million in federal homeland security funds since Sept. 11, 2001, but only about one-third of that money has been allocated to Clark County.

Sheriff Bill Young thinks the amount should be much higher, considering that Clark County has the bulk of the state's population and what are considered the most likely terrorist targets in Hoover Dam and the Las Vegas Strip.

"I have 70 percent of the responsibility," Young said. "I endorse a system where 70 percent of the funding goes to Clark County."

Jerry Bussell, Gov. Kenny Guinn's homeland security adviser, said that looking at how federal funding is distributed will be the top priority of a new commission on homeland security that will include officials from Clark County emergency agencies.

"We need to improve communications and get rid of the disconnects that are out there, so we can make sure the funding is going where it's most needed," Bussell said. "The commission will prioritize all the requests for funding."

Young and Henderson Police Chief Mike Mayberry are among those who will likely be a part of the commission that is expected to hold its first meeting before the end of the year.

"We're taking a look at the process, and my hope is that there will be a better distribution of funds for the Las Vegas Valley," Mayberry said. "I think that we're going to have better representation in the future."

Currently, federal funds are allocated to the State Office of Emergency Management. From there local emergency planning committees, one for each of the state's 17 counties, make funding requests to the state.

If a request is granted, the county can purchase the equipment or spend money on the training for which the money had been requested and then will be reimbursed by the state.

The majority of $2.1 million allocated to Clark County earlier this year went toward purchasing personal protection suits for patrol officers with the Metro, Henderson and North Las Vegas police departments. The suits, similar to hazardous material suits used by firefighters, were also purchased for the Clark County Coroner's office.

Respirators for patrol officers were also purchased, as well as decontamination equipment for Mesquite. Jane's chemical handbooks, binoculars for the Metro Search and Rescue Team and handheld chemical detectors were also purchased.

An additional $7.55 million is scheduled to be awarded to the county by the end of the month pending federal approval.

That money will be used for additional personal protection equipment, mobile command posts for Clark County Fire, Metro and Henderson Police, and other equipment, authorities said.

While Young has emphasized the need for the state to recognize the needs of Clark County he has been even more vocal about the need for federal agencies to provide adequate funding to the state.

"Federal funding to Nevada totally disregards the tourism population," he said. "We're getting far less than our equitable share."

In May, the Department of Homeland Security left Las Vegas off a list of 30 cities that will divvy up $500 million in anti-terrorism money. Since that decision, Nevada's congressional delegation has pushed to have tourism taken into consideration in future disbursements of anti-terror funding.

Legislation is pending that would add tourism considerations to the formula for allocation of homeland security fund.

Bussell said that because an estimated 250,000 people are visiting Las Vegas at any given time, the area is a more significant target than the Department of Homeland Security realizes.

"Eighteen of the 20 largest hotels in the world are on the 2.1 miles we call the Las Vegas Strip," Bussell said. "The Las Vegas Strip has more people on any given day than are in Fort Lauderdale or Salt Lake City."

Jim O'Brien, emergency manager for Clark County, said that acquiring federal funds means fitting requests into narrow federal eligibility requirements, making for a sometimes arduous process.

"You can't just say you need a certain amount of money for gas masks," O'Brien said. "You have to follow their guidelines, and if those guidelines say you buy all the equipment needed for a hazardous materials team before getting anything for law enforcement then that's what you do."

O'Brien did say that he feels that officials in Washington, D.C. are starting to hear police and fire departments' pleas for the ability to determine what is needed in their communities.

"Since Sept. 11 we've seen the federal government come out with these national plans that don't take into account the differences in the local jurisdictions around the country," O'Brien said. "They never consulted us and they come out like it's a done deal telling us what we need, when we can probably articulate it better."

"I think they're starting to listen back in Washington, D.C. now, and the grant process is starting to loosen up."

Getting the needed resources to react to a terrorist attack is important, but so is prevention, Mayberry said.

"Our focus as law enforcement is prevention," Mayberry said. "We have the suits and masks, but we don't want to have to use them.

"We need to put some of this money toward training because it's going to be a properly trained officer who's going to see something and be able to prevent an attack."

Despite the struggles with funding for the state and Southern Nevada in particular, Bussell said that Nevadans are safer than they were two years ago.

"The money that we have received is not sufficient, but we are safer than we were two years ago," Bussell said. "There is never going to be enough money to be perfectly safe, but we are more prepared now than we've ever been."

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